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This statement is supplementary to and should be read in conjunction with the original planning documentation including; Design and Access Statement, Planning Statement and Application Drawings.
The purpose of this document is to provide additional information to clarify a number of issues that were raised during the planning process either by the case Planning Officer, other council consultees or through objections through interested parties. It does not seek to address every issue raised as the majority were either fully addressed in the original submission or non-material considerations. In addition all issues raised by consultees or objectors were addressed in the Planning Officers Report and at the Planning Committee. Where they were held either to be non-material considerations or to have been satisfactorily addresses through the submission and subsequent correspondence.
The three specific issues addressed by this statement are:
As identified in the original Planning Statement, Policy L/Res/PR/8 which specifically relates to the application site states;
‘The site is considered suitable for low density development of individual dwellings at a density similar to that of the adjacent properties.’
The original submission did not make specific reference to the density of the adjacent properties and therefore the attached drawing P026-401 has been prepared. This drawing identifies the site area and density of development of both adjacent dwellings and the application site. As can be seen from the identified densities there is a wide range varying from 0.85 dwellings per hectare (DPH) for Howe Farm to 21.41 DPH for Stoneycroft. However the average density for all the adjacent dwellings is 3.79 DPH. The proposals provide for a density of 3.49DPH which whilst slightly lower certainly qualifies as similar to the average of the adjacent dwellings and therefore meets the requirements of the policy.
Whilst it is an established principle, confirmed with in the Case Officer’s Report that the right to views is not a material planning consideration, the impact of the proposals on all adjacent properties was taken into account during the design of the proposals and the position and orientation of each dwelling considered carefully.
When the Mr and Mrs Quayle, the occupiers of Howe Farm raised concerns regarding the impact of the development on their existing views stating; “The siting of the dwelling on Plot 2 is definitely un-
neighbourly. Due to its position, size and height, it will completely block out our uninterrupted view of Laxey Bay and surrounding Headlands", and enclosing a photograph with a block superimposed representing the proposed dwelling, in the interests of good neighbourly relations efforts were made to re-assure them that the impact on their views had been considered and would be minimal and specifically far less than their misinterpretation of the position of the proposals.
Contact was made with Mr and Mrs Quayle on the 23/05/011 offering to meet and discuss their concerns. Subsequently a meeting was held on 26/05/11 where Mrs Quayle pointed out her main concern was that they would lose the view from the kitchen (where she spends most of her time) of Laxey Bay. Following discussions it was agreed that Marc Purcell on his next visit would take photographs from kitchen, lounge and dining room at The Howe Farmhouse and would have photomontages prepared showing the visibility of the proposed dwellings, specifically plot 2, from each of these rooms.
In order to accurately represent the view from each window the corner of the proposed dwelling at plot 2 was set-out on site and a 5.0m surveying staff was held on the set-out point whilst photos were taken from each window.
The photos were then combined with a computer generated model of the proposals and the position of the staff was used to position and scale the model accurately. The attached drawings no's P026-403-406 shows the existing photo and the relevant photomontage and clearly show that the both Old Laxey and Laxey Head remain visible from all windows.
Drawing P026-402 also demonstrates that the views in consideration are all off-set from the principle views perpendicular to these windows which all look directly out to sea and as such any views of the new development will be peripheral.
A further meeting was held with Mr and Mrs Quayle on the 06/07/11 where the photomontages were presented and discussed. The photomontages and drawings prepared to address their concerns not only demonstrate that reasonable steps have been taken to reduce the visual impact of the Proposals on Howe farm, but also that he impact of the proposals on views, particularly those from the kitchen window, will be far less than perceived by the occupiers. Indeed if a 2.0m boundary hedge were to be planted to screen Howe Farms view of the properties it is likely that this would have a greater impact on the views of Laxey Bay.
The issue of the small existing water course which enters the site in the south west corner and dissipates across the site, was not specifically addressed in the original submission documents. It was however raised by the Water and Sewage Authority and in two letters of representation. As a result of this an onsite meeting was arranged between the applicant and Mr John Kneen of the Water and Sewage Authority. Proposals for addressing the water course were discussed along with drainage proposals. The agreed solution is to provide a shallow ditch to run inside the south east perimeter of the site and to terminate in a catch pond in the north east corner of the site so that any water that has not dissipated en-route will be collected and allows dissipating naturally. This was subsequently
proposed to the case planning officer and confirmed as being acceptable. The Water and Sewage Authority confirmed in their letter of 25th May 2011 that they had no objections to the proposals.
The above and attached when read in conjunction with the planning application documentation and the Planning Officer’s report clearly demonstrate that the proposed development both meets in full the requirements of the relevant Planning Policies and has been designed to ensure that any impact on adjacent properties is minimal.
For these reasons the appeal against the Planning Approval granted on 22nd June 2011 for the erection of three detached dwellings on the application site should be dismissed.
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